Tough kid

It is a big fight for both of us. A win will push me up towards a shot for the title, for him he’s fighting in front of his huge fan base

Cheick Kongo

French heavyweight Cheick Kongo is indulging his inner child as he acclimatises in Tokyo before his UFC clash with ex- training partner and PRIDE leg- end Mark Hunt on Saturday night, Sunday morning.

Kongo, 36, is an honorary Brit due to his long association with Bisping and the Wolfslair team, and make no mistake about it, he’s crept up the heavyweight ladder once again with- out too much fanfare.

The former Muay Thai hero overcame his London bore draw with Travis Browne and comprehensive defeat to Mir with an amazing KO of Pat Barry and dominant victory over the fancied Matt Mitrione.

Taking out local favourite Hunt in Tokyo will nudge him back to the upper echelons once again.

The friendly and talkative Kongo disarms me by launching into French, leaving FT floundering and dusting off his decade-old A-level before laughing.

He said: “Tokyo’s awesome, it’s like a Manga cartoon, I feel like a kid. It’s my first time in Japan, and Tokyo looks like a city in space, with the big towers with lights on.

“It is a big fight for both of us. A win will push me up towards a shot for the title, for him he’s fighting in front of his huge fan base.”

Facing another MMA legend is no skin off the nose of Mr Kongo and he tells me that although fighting a friend will be tough, he wants to “be smart, to win in the right way and make myself happy and secure.”

MMA is on the rise in France, and although currently outlawed there, Kongo says people are switching on in droves now they realise the safety of fighters is paramount.

He said: “People are too shy to say ‘I love the sport’ but everyone loves the drama, and people are starting to learn the rules.”

● Good luck to Vaughan Lee in Tokyo too. Catch ESPN at 2am on Sunday for all the fightingaction.